A trip to the Bowes Museum

Yesterday I ventured up to the land of County Durham with two wonderful ladies - fellow red head Ruth, and talented milliner, Claire. We had a great day out, wonderfully accommodated by The Bowes Museum. The building itself is a rather magnificent property of grandiosity, not to mention the grounds and the incredible exhibitions inside. We viewed Tim Walker's collection of photographs; a significantly scaled down version of London's Somerset House exhibition at the beginning of this year. Nevertheless, Walker's work shall never fail to instill beauty and fantastical elegance into the room. We then admired the costume exhibition elegantly displayed inside the Museum, and enjoyed a healthy and very delicious lunch at the cafe. It was a Sunday of art, friends, and sunshine.

It's a rather rare occasion that I find time to enjoy a leisurely day such as this one, mainly due to my inability to allow days off or even an evening off. To sit down and 'rest' is not even an option right now, but I'm almost certain this will change as soon as I begin studying again and my mental energy wears down my physical energy. Nevertheless, this seeming lack of ability to 'relax' is both great because I'm getting lots done whilst earning money, reaching out to open new doors, and keeping my head part way in the academic/career path I'm following. But on the other hand, it means that I constantly dread the day that I can't fill. It hasn't happened yet, but I have six weeks until I start my new job, and over two months before my post grad course begins. I do have a lot happening; modelling, work with Women's Aid, and work with young people in care, plus my on-going endevour to locate my placement for September. I made the difficult decision to leave my work with young people - my last session is in a weeks time. One main reason being that there are so many unknowns, but so many very exciting potentials right now that it's just impossible to begin to predict a single thing.

However, regardless of the busy nature of this summer, days off with a purpose seem much more appealing. I shall definitely make more efforts to allocate time for opportunities to expand my understanding of the world. It seems to be all relatively smaller parts of the greater picture. The more we inspire each aspect of who we are; the heart, soul, and mind, the more we can offer back out to the world, in each area of life. Each part inevitably feeds the other.